Relevance
by a mountain of gideon's scones
Summary: "Since you have accepted him into your fold, you are not the maker of your destiny any longer; you are weak now, Amelie, though you trick yourself into thinking you are strong." Myrnin's not relevant to anyone in Morganville, not any longer. -Myrnin focused


I just wrote this in the past hour or so?

It's focused on Myrnin, but there's Amelie & Myrnin friendship, and a little ClaireMyrnin

I don't own anything.

This is set after Black Dawn, but before Bitter Blood as I have no idea what happens in it.

* * *

All Myrnin can smell is fear.

As he's bundled through the corridors of the Elders' Council—the one that he, for a short period of time, was included within—he's aware that things are very, very much different to what they used to be. This capture of him ought never to have happened, and he's scared, scared that this is the proof of something that he's long hoped would never happen.

Forced down onto his knees before Amelie, he looks directly at her, his oldest friend, and never at the man situated beside her. All he wants is power, damning justness and democracy, and he'll destroy the woman with the crown of blonde hair to get that, Myrnin's certain.

Amelie won't survive this, not if she doesn't listen to Myrnin's advice, he's so sure that he'd bet on it if any bookie would be willing to gamble on the Founder's life.

His eyes lock with Amelie's and he's shocked at what he sees; she's dark and cold and rock-stone hard, none of the usual warmth that she usually greets him with. This isn't the Amelie he's always known; this is the predator, the one who is normally locked away—yet with Oliver, she isn't. It's free and willing to strike at anyone who approaches…just like Oliver. He's twisted her to want nobody, to need no allies but him, and that scares Myrnin more than anything.

Finally, she speaks. "What is Myrnin doing here?" she asks, but the question isn't directed at Myrnin but rather at Oliver.

Not even for this does Myrnin divert his attention from Amelie; if he even looks at Oliver at this minute, he's certain that he'll launch himself at the man and end up in an even worse situation than he was in before…and that wouldn't be something that he would advise. Oliver has always been stronger than Myrnin, due to what he did in his human past, and Myrnin's always managed to avoid being attacked by the man; this is something he doesn't want to change now.

The tension builds in the air as the silence drags on, Oliver deliberately exerting the power he has over Myrnin by leaving him in suspense; it's only when Amelie says, "Oliver, my dear, why have you brought my old friend to me as though he is a common prisoner?" does he speak.

"The dog decided to make some sort of contraption that would ensure that when I entered Common Grounds, I would be covered in talcum powder, be attacked by children carrying make-up—you know that even I cannot kill a child—and have some absolute drivel play on the radio, which apparently indicates how _gay_ I am." Oliver doesn't sound impressed, but it's all Myrnin can do not to smile; it was one of his greatest pranks that he's achieved thus far…but it looks as though he may pay the consequences.

Amelie's eyebrow raises slightly, and Myrnin knows that the _real_ her would be finding this amusing; she's always struggled to punish Myrnin for doing things to Oliver because of how much they brighten her day, and for a moment, he feels that the same situation is applicable now. That is until her expression hardens once more, into something akin to Oliver's, and Myrnin knows that all hope is lost.

"Stand up," she murmurs quietly, her voice barely showing any recognition of Myrnin as her friend. "Do you have anything to say in your defence with regards to attacking my beau with such cruel words?"

As Amelie allows Oliver to take her hand—another thing that she would never have done before—Myrnin permits himself a small glance in Oliver's direction. The man's smiling wickedly, as though driving a wedge between the Founder and her pet alchemist is all he's ever wanted, and Myrnin feels a surge of rage swell through him. This isn't about Oliver's pride…this is about his standing in Amelie's eyes.

Getting to his feet slowly, almost human speed, Myrnin begins to flex his wrists as though the bindings that were on them throughout the journey to this room are still upon them. "Binding your old friend and forcing them to their knees, this is not the treatment that most friends give," he comments, sighing ever so slightly: Amelie doesn't seem concerned with his words. "I would have come to these chambers if you had requested, yet you felt the need to bring me with force that was not required."

Amelie's eyes soften for a moment, before hardening once more. "I…I did not know you were coming. Oliver merely said that he had a criminal here to be sentenced."

Myrnin snorts, unable to help himself. "That is exactly my point! Since you have accepted him into your fold, you are not the maker of your destiny any longer; you are weak now, Amelie, though you trick yourself into thinking you are strong. He is manipulating you, and I fear for you, I truly do." He takes a step towards Amelie now, his eyes focused most absolutely on her expression. "I did what I did because it amuses me, something you have always understood in the past. He is not a man to be trusted, not a man for you to associate yourself with so closely; look at the grip he has on you! You never allowed your lover to do that in the past, so why Oliver?"

He can tell that he's reached something inside of her; she's struggling to keep the cold fury from her face, and that's what he wants. If he can make her angry, he can make her violent, he can make her see that the situation she's in is wrong, that she has completely betrayed all morals she has ever possessed.

He can make her realise that she's betrayed Sam and everything he died to protect.

"And who are you to make judgements on my life?" Amelie replies, her voice and expression ice-cold. "You are nought but someone that I have kept for amusement, someone whose good advice rests in the past—where your skills belong. Alchemy has not been important for hundreds of years, and you ought to have died with it!"

Myrnin jumps at this point, shocked beyond belief at what his dear friend could be saying to him; he doesn't believe that she feels this way, yet the pain and hatred that her words evoke within him are too strong for him to ignore. He does not care any longer about Amelie and Oliver (at least not for now). He is done fighting for her justice, for her to see that something has most certainly gone wrong in her mind; all he wants is away.

"In that case, my lady, allow me to make my leave," he says, his voice hollow as he makes a bow. "Your…beau may have my written apology for my actions…and as for me, you need not make contact with me any longer. I am nought to you, therefore you shall be nought to me from this point onwards. Good day, my Founder." And with this, he walks away.

He's more than slightly confused as he walks away; he was expecting her to retain him, to punish him for his words…yet she is letting him go, though she said such horrific things to him.

Myrnin doesn't care though.

This is the last day he'll spend in Morganville.

_~x~_

Back in the laboratory, Myrnin begins to pack the things that he feels he could not live without: books, some of the more archaic laboratory equipment and even some of Claire's notes. Some of her developments have been…extraordinary, and he wonders blindly if she would consider leaving with him.

He cannot stay in a town which is ruled by such tyranny any longer, cannot stay to watch the destruction and downfall of his dearest friend—therefore he won't. It is his skills that track those who leave Morganville, and even if Amelie does manage to find him, death may well be a blessing in disguise for him. Living in a world with an Amelie like this is far too painful for him.

"Myrnin, what are you doing?" A voice at the door startles Myrnin, and he looks up to see Claire standing there.

It's who he was going to find once he finished his packing, the girl he wants to take with him, the one person within Morganville who can make him feel as though he is worth something. It's Claire Danvers, a girl he never expected to feel this for, yet he does—and that's what makes him want to beg her to come with him.

"I am leaving," is all he says, continuing to move in a whirlwind of flutter, sending papers everywhere as he searches for those which have any relevance to what he desires for the future. "Amelie's rule is no longer bearable for me to live under, therefore I am removing myself from this town of poison immediately."

Claire takes steps into the laboratory, and Myrnin stops dead in front of her, his eyes locked into hers. Whereas Amelie's were all cold and blue, Claire's are warm and brown, concern the overarching emotion within them. "Why now? You have lived with this for so many years, Myrnin…why would you decide to leave so suddenly?"

He laughs, a short, cold, hard laugh that is nothing like him. This Amelie has affected them all, made even the brightest of souls nothing more than a dimmed version of themselves, and he's sick of it. All he wants is to be free and to do what he pleases, with no consequences whatsoever.

"She is different now than what she was before, young one," he tells her simply. "She does not listen to reason any longer. All influence I once had over her has been lost to Oliver; I am no longer relevant in this town, and therefore, I must leave."

"Just because you are not important doesn't mean you _leave_!" she cries out, reaching out and shaking Myrnin's shoulders. He lets her simply because of who it is, and because it means that they're touching.

"Au contraire, my Claire, it means exactly that," is Myrnin's response, his voice empty as it was with Amelie. "I will not survive this year now that I have lost the protection Amelie has afforded me. Oliver will pursue me, persecute me for what I have done to him in the past, and even the threat of losing the one person in the world who knows her will not make her act; this is my salvation, Claire, leaving this town—and I want you to come with me." He asks her suddenly, deciding to just blurt out his request rather than finding the words to make it flowery and eloquent.

She splutters. "I can't leave! She'll find me, kill me!"

He shakes his head, his eyes firmly focused on Claire's. Now, his hands reach up to take a hold of her shoulders, pulling her closer to him, until their chests are almost touching. This is what he wants, to be able to hold Claire close to him like this…and for her to not struggle, also like this. "She won't. That's always been my job—and you'll be damned if I leave instructions on how to find me." Myrnin smiles this time, slightly manic but not really, because he truly does believe in what he says.

Before she can say a word, he reaches out and presses his lips to hers, uniting them in something that he knows she wants, also; there's no instinctive pushing him away, not even after a few moments, and she begins to kiss him back, something that he never expected.

After a few more moments though, he pulls away. "Do you see what we can have, Claire? We can have that, and we can have science and learning forever and _freedom_; isn't that what you've always wanted? To be free of this place, to be free of the shackles and constraints of society, to merely learn everything you can about a subject you adore? You want to come with me—I know it."

He's certain that she'll come, so certain that he doesn't expect the next words to come from her mouth. "I can't."

"Why not?" he demands, suddenly angry with her—first Amelie, now Claire! "Why not, my Claire? you want it, I know you do!"

She nods slowly, somehow extracting herself from his grip, and she takes steps backwards, towards the door. "I do—god knows how much I do, Myrnin—but I can't. There's Shane and…and school and just…everything that isn't you. My life doesn't revolve around this place, around you, even though I would love it to. It's easy for you to leave, but not so much for me." Claire swallows, her eyes clouding with tears, and Myrnin has to look away; he can't bear to look at her now. "Come back in a year, maybe two, and I'll be ready; I'll have sorted everything and ensured that I can leave with you and never come back. But for now, it's too soon. I'm sorry."

She's gone before he can even remember to say that he loves her.

Somehow, Myrnin manages to sort through his things without losing control; there'll be time enough for that later, and the thing he needs now isn't for Amelie to discover what he's doing. The old Amelie may have allowed him to escape the shackles of a society which he isn't suited for…but this one wants blood and nothing else; she won't let him leave even if his life depended on it.

And it does.

_~x~_

Myrnin leaves Morganville at midnight, driving one of the 'normal' cars for humans, because on the roads outside Morganville, the vampire tinted cars are illegal.

He pretends not to notice the tears that stream down his face because not only is he leaving his home, he's leaving a woman he's loved for hundreds of years and has just become lost to him…and a girl he could quite easily love for the rest of forever. He's leaving absolutely everything to Oliver.

All Myrnin can hope is that whenever he comes back, Amelie's still alive to tell him what's happened.

(After all, she's the only one who knows when his birthday is.)

* * *

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